Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Black and White Warblers at Fort Ancient

...in addition to the Yellow-rumped Warblers (from this post), two Black and White Warblers were foraging in the pine grove. Poor things, they never seem to be able to decide if they are warblers or nuthatches...

I see Black and White Warblers along the Little Miami by the Powder Factory all summer, and I've seen a few at Fort Ancient too, so this fellow may have been a summer resident getting ready to depart or a migrant stopping by to refuel on his trip south.

Click here for an interesting map (Figure 2) showing the travels of a group of migrating Black and White Warblers. Apparently, Black and Whites are slow migrators, taking 50 days to reach their breeding grounds at the rate of about 20 miles per day.

...the Black and White Warblers made pretty peeping sounds as they searched out caterpillars and other bugs. I always enjoy seeing them, and especially now. This might be the last encounter I have with one until next spring when they return or migrate through.

...thanks, everyone! Black and White Warblers are one of my favorite birds. I love their pattern of black and white, and their sweet little song is so pretty. I see them regularly on the Little Miami, but every time I do my heart jumps. The are so pretty!

My Camera and Lenses

I hand hold the camera for all my photos (I used to use a monopod or tripod for distance and macro, but the VR lenses don't seem to require it). I crop the images down in Aperture (I'm a Mac).

The Story Behind "Red and the Peanut"

Red and the Peanut is named after my first bird memory. When I was about six, I was at my Great Aunt Mary's house and she was telling me about Red and the peanut. "Red" was a Northern Cardinal that had trained Aunt Mary to feed it peanuts on demand. Since Aunt Mary's "Red" started it all, what better name could I choose?